Mother I Sober

[Verse 1: Kendrick Lamar]

I'm sensitive, I feel everything, I feel everybody

One man standin' on two words, heal everybody

Transformation, then reciprocation, karma must return

Heal myself, secrets that I hide, buried in these words

Death threats, ego must die, but I let it purge

Pacify, broken pieces of me, it was all a blur

Mother cried, put they hands on her, it was family ties

I heard it all, I should've grabbed a gun, but I was only five

I still feel it weighin' on my heart, my first tough decision

In the shadows clingin' to my soul as my only critic

Where's my faith? Told you I was Christian, but just not today

I transformed, prayin' to the trees, God is taking shape

My mother's mother followed me for years in her afterlife

Starin' at me on back of some buses, I wake up at night

Loved her dearly, traded in my tears for a Range Rover

Transformation, you ain't felt grief 'til you felt it sober

[Chorus: Beth Gibbons]

I wish I was somebody

Anybody but myself

Ooh, I wish I was somebody

Anybody but myself

[Verse 2: Kendrick Lamar]

I remember lookin' in the mirror knowin' I was gifted

Only child, me for seven years, everything for Christmas

Family ties, they accused my cousin, "Did he touch you, Kendrick?"

Never lied, but no one believed me when I said "He didn't"

Frozen moments, still holdin' on it, hard to trust myself

I started rhymin', copin' mechanisms to lift up myself

Talked to my lawyer, told me not to be so hard on myself

He has an aura, I hope to achieve, if I find some help

Congratulations, made it to be famous, still I feel uneasy

Water watchin', live my life in nature, only thing relieves me

Spirit guide whisper in my ear, tell me that she sees me

"Did he touch you?" I said "No" again, still they didn't believe me

Mother's brother said he got revenge for my mother’s face

Black and blue, the image of my queen that I can't erase

'Til this day can't look her in the eyes, pain is takin' over

Blame myself, you never felt guilt 'til you felt it sober

[Chorus: Beth Gibbons]

I wish I was somebody

Anybody but myself

Ooh, I wish I was somebody

Anybody but myself

[Verse 3: Kendrick Lamar]

I was never high, I was never drunk, never out my mind

I need control, they handed me some smoke, but still I declined

I did it sober sittin' with myself, I went through all emotions

No dependents, except for one, let me bring you closer

Intoxicated, there's a lustful nature that I failed to mention

Insecurities that I project, sleepin' with other women

Whitney's hurt, the purest soul I know, I found her in the kitchen

Askin' God, "Where did I lose myself? And can it be forgiven?"

Broke me down, she looked me in my eyes, "Is there an addiction?"

I said "No," but this time I lied, I knew that I can't fix it

Pure soul, even in her pain, know she cared for me

Gave me a number, said she recommended some therapy

I asked my momma why she didn't believe me when I told her "No"

I never knew she was violated in Chicago, I'm sympathetic

Told me that she feared it happened to me, for my protection

Though it never happened, she wouldn't agree

Now I'm affected, twenty years later trauma has resurfaced

Amplified as I write this song, I shiver 'cause I'm nervous

I was five, questioning myself, 'lone for many years

Nothing's wrong, just results on how them questions made me feel

I made it home, seven years of tour, chasin' manhood

But Whitney's gone, by time you hear this song, she did all she could

All those women gave me superpowers, what I thought I lacked

I pray our children don't inherit me and feelings I attract

A conversation not bein' addressed in Black families

The devastation, hauntin' generations and humanity

They raped our mothers, then they raped our sisters

Then they made us watch, then made us rape each other

Psychotic torture between our lives, we ain't recovered

Still livin' as victims in the public eyes who pledge allegiance

Every other brother has been compromised

I know the secrets, every other rapper sexually abused

I see 'em daily buryin' they pain in chains and tattoos

So listen close before you start to pass judgment on how he move

Learn how he cope, whenever his uncle had to walk him from school

His anger grows deep in misogyny

This is post-traumatic Black families and a sodomy, today is still active

So I set free myself from all the guilt that I thought I made

So I set free my mother all the hurt that she titled shame

So I set free my cousin, chaotic for my mother's pain

I hope Hykeem made you proud 'cause you ain't die in vain

So I set free the power of Whitney, may she heal us all

So I set free our children, may good karma keep them with God

So I set free the hearts filled with hatred, keep our bodies sacred

As I set free all you abusers, this is transformation

[Chorus: Beth Gibbons]

I wish I was somebody

Anybody but myself

Ooh, I wish I was somebody

Anybody but myself

[Interlude: Whitney Alford]

You did it, I'm proud of you

You broke a generational curse

Say "Thank you, dad"

Thank you, daddy, thank you, mommy, thank you, brother

Mr. Morale

[Outro: Sam Dew]

Before I go in fast asleep, love me for me

I bare my soul and now we're free